Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of our readers! I know I just posted yesterday, but I found even more Christmas goodies from some of our favorite America’s Got Talent alum, so I put together a fun little playlist to celebrate the season! I also wanted to thank everyone for helping Pure AGT grow even more after our comeback last year. We have a lot more planned for 2018, including new ventures to make the site even more fun and interactive, previously-announced coverage of the upcoming season of Britain’s Got Talent, and of course all the buzz and news on AGT Season 13. Enjoy the holidays and I’ll see you in the new year!

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

There is also a “behind the scenes” video up on her YouTube Channel.AGT Alumni have released some cool music over the past few days! Grace VanderWaal‘s album Just The Beginning came out a few weeks ago, but she dropped a new video for the song “So Much More Than This” on Monday. I love the message of the song; it’s something I can personally stand to keep in mind a bit more, which goes to show Grace is wise beyond her years. The video is lighthearted and uplifting, which definitely compliments the song.

Getting into the holiday spirit, Season 12 finalist Laura Bretan released her own version of “Silent Night” today. The track will be released on all streaming platforms this Friday, December 8, but for now it is exclusively available for listen via YouTube.

Lindsey Stirling released another music video complimentary to her Warmer in the Winter Christmas album last week, this time for “Carol of the Bells”. There is also a “behind the scenes” video up on her YouTube Channel.

To end today’s post off, I’d like to let everyone know I’m in the midst of a personal project for the month I’m calling “Blogmas” which entails me putting up one blog post every day until Christmas. The catch is since I write for several blogs and would also like to include some more random and personal entries (especially seeing how dead the reality TV world is this time of year) not all installments are going up on the same site so I have a masterpost I’m updating with links to each new entry as I post them (in fact, this very post is today’s installment!). It’d be really cool if I could get some people from each of my blogs’s respective readerships to go check it out and see what else I do, but if not I’ll be back here on Pure AGT with at least two more posts by the end of the month, and hopefully we’ll get some new information on the new Got Talent seasons soon!

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Time for another episode of AGT auditions! It looks like we’re starting off the night with some magic! And also a sad backstory, apparently. Henry Rich, our teen magician, used to watch the show with his father before he died and got into magic that way. His stage presence and execution of the trick were amazing, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him in the live shows!

Ooo, a husband a wife, but they’re competing against each other instead of with each other. Both are balancing acts, but Maxim’s focuses on the height while Maria’s in more about contortion. Both made it through, but how much do you want to bet they bring them out onstage together after their Judge Cuts auditions and send one through and the other home?

I love the 3 Masqueraders! They sounded pretty good together and I’m happy their dream lives on.

This dancing officer was funny but I agree with the judges’ decision to not send him forward. He can certainly move, but the performance wasn’t coherent enough to be taken seriously as an AGT act.

Sarah and Hero are so cute, even when they were “fighting”! I can’t believe they were about to get rejected, and I’m glad Simon convinced Howie to save them, but more on that at the end of this post.EDIT: I’m actually gonna save my thoughts for another article I’ll be doing next week in place of the usual live blog since there won’t be a new episode next Tuesday.

Okay, so this next guy is a rapper, which is cool, but it sounds like he’s had quite the career in this business before. Now he did eventually get to a standstill point in his career, but his participation as a contestant on a show like this seems kind of unfair. I’ll have to look more into it.

Oh, he’s singing? I thought he said he had a rap career? Either way, he has a great voice, but again, as I say every week, I think singers like him would benefit more from competing on a singing-only competition show, where they have people who have more expertise helping them with their craft.

Now we’re getting into the more offbeat acts (well, actually most of this night has been pretty strange;in a good way!). I loved the comedy projector act, even though it was cheesy and hokey.

“The worst act we’ve had on this year?” Really, Simon? (Was this before or after the flashing old ladies we saw a couple weeks ago?)

Wow, this boy band (not sure what else to call it) is really good! I see potential to go far in this competition for sure!

The projection act was incredible; not much to say there except for that I’m SO HYPED to see what’s next from them!

This magician is certainly dedicated to the integrity of his craft! (And is it just me, or have we had more acts involving nudity than usual this season?)

Looks like we’re ending things off on a singer…again. And he’s….an opera singer! And a pretty darn good one at that! I didn’t see a Golden Buzzer in any previews for this week, so I figured he probably wouldn’t get it, but I’m glad he went through.

Speaking of the Golden Buzzer, there won’t be a new episode next week because of the 4th of July, so the sixth and final audition compilation episode will air on July 11th and presumably feature Heidi’s Golden Buzzer. As edited above, I’m planning to have a separate article up next week to share my thoughts on a trend I’ve been seeing this season, but until then, share your thoughts on tonight’s episode down below!

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

This is gonna be short because I just got home from vacation (I watched last night’s episode from my hotel room in the middle of a thunderstorm). This week’s list will start with who I think is LEAST likely to win tonight and go from there. I won’t say much else besides the names right now, but I’ll be doing a season wrap-up post once we know the results so I’ll go into more detail on things there!

Not sure this is EXACTLY how things will play out but I do think the Top 5/Bottom 5 will look like this in some order or another. My Final 2 could be flipped, but I honestly don’t see anyone other than Grace or Brian winning (though I GUESS there could be a small outside chance of it being Jon or The Clairvoyants).

But yeah, that’s it for now. Looking forward to the finale and rehashing it over here soon afterward!

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

So last week my Power Rankings were pretty off (was especially shocked Kadan cracked Top 5 and that The Passing Zone didn’t even manage to be in the Dunkin’ Save) and I’m fully expecting to be wrong about a few things again tonight. But I’ll try to make an educated guess as to how things will play out:

And as a reminder, this is a list of what I THINK the results will be, not necessarily what I’m hoping for.

1. Grace VanderWaal – The hype for this girl continues, and doesn’t seem like it’s letting up anytime soon. I found Grace’s performance last night pretty forgettable myself, but it seems America has fallen in love with her, and I’ll be very surprised if she isn’t one of the three automatically advancing acts tonight.

2. Tape Face – In all honesty, this spot and the next one are pretty much interchangeable. Both acts seemed to get a very positive reaction from viewers, and have gotten a lot of buzz throughout the season in general, but I think there’s a chance one or both of them could end up in the Dunkin’ Save. As for Tape Face’s performance last night, I enjoyed it but I think I enjoyed the package preceding it even more!

3. Laura Bretan – Between performing last-AGAIN-and the story about her grandfather, I have a feeling she’s making it through to the Finals, but I’m still not quite sure if opera is popular enough for her to crack tonight’s top three. I’m going to tentatively guess it is, but we’ll see.

4. Musicality – This was the other major tearjerking story of the night, but unlike their showing in the Quarter-Finals I think their performance actually backed it up quite nicely, and I predict that one way or another, we’ll be seeing them in the finals.

5. Malevo – They were good before, but they really stepped up their game last night to give us a very unique performance.They may end up in the top three tonight, but after being on the bubble last week I’m thinking maybe not. But I think their standout performance and their running order spot will be enough to get them into the Dunkin’ Save again.

6. Jon Dorenbos – No doubt that this guy has fans, both from the football world and now from this show. But I saw a lot of comments calling his act last night “messy” and I think he may have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit because of that. But I think there may still be hope for him if he managed to get into the Dunkin’ Save zone.

7. Sal Valentinetti – Again, like Jon, Sal seems to have a substantial following among fans of the show, but I fear he may have gotten lost in the shuffle last night (and going first probably didn’t help). If he makes the Dunkin’ Save again I think he might squeeze his way into the finals, but at this point I’m not sure whether or not he’ll be there.

8. Edgar – I love this family, and they gave a great performance last night, but I think this is another act that might not have been in the forefront of a lot of people’s minds when it came time to vote. But I do think they have a shot at making the Dunkin’ Save.

9. Deadly Games – I was very impressed at how much these two stepped up their game and added some nice variety to their act, but for whatever reason I get the feeling the audience has already chosen their favorites, and this act just might not be one of them. They MAY have cracked the top six for the Dunkin’ Save, but sadly I feel like they didn’t.

10. Blake Vogt – Another act I loved, but, due to running order and being up against another magician that I get the feeling might have more backers, I have a feeling his time on the show will be up tonight.

11. Lori Mae Hernandez – I think Lori has improved over the course of the competition, but I get the feeling that a lot of people don’t like her (whether it be for political reasons after the last time she was on or because they simply don’t find her funny) so I’m think she’ll be another act going home tonight.

I’m not even gonna touch the Dunkin’ Save possibilities this week because there are just too many variables at this point in the competition.

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Today we have a guest post from a good friend of mine, Nathan, who informed me the other day that Nadia Bjorlin, one of his favorite soap stars, actually tried out for AGT this season with her brothers. Allow Nathan to enlighten us…

Days of Our Lives alumni Nadia Bjorlin has apparently auditioned for this season’s America’s Got Talent. She and her brothers will be performing as a trio. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when I first heard the news, but once I got a feel for the show this past Monday, I’m more than okay with it. For those who are unfamiliar with Nadia, well, you’ve come to the right place, as I’m a big fan of hers.

She portrayed the once popular character of Chloe Lane on Days from 1999-2005, and then again in 2007-2011, and has since made occasional cameos. The fact that Nadia is making the leap to singing from acting isn’t too farfetched as her character was an opera singer. In fact, if you want a taste of what you might hear from her, here are a few clips of Nadia as Chloe singing in different episodes of Days of Our Lives.

Clip #1 Chloe Sings at Grandpa Shawn’s Funeral

I still remember this episode very well, as it was the last episode before I left home for trade school in Washington State. I think this shines a great light on Nadia’s ‘pretty voice’. As you can hear, Nadia’s voice is geared towards classical music. And I think she truly shines in this clip.

*swoon* the wonderful year of 2001 (as a Days fan, anyway). I have to go on a side note for a second here and just talk about how Days was it’s finest in the years in 2000-2001, and it was the character of Chloe that got me hooked on Days in the first place. But this year, it was a great year in the writing department. These writers knew how to write for their younger set and Chloe was at her peak in her popularity. Anyways, while I was on Team Philip and Chloe, as a fan of the show, PERIOD, I loved this scene. It is portraying young, teen love at its cutest, sugary and finest. No rolling around in the hay, or catfights, just innocent kids singing to each other. And for the Brady and Chloe fans, this is probably one of the top moments for that couple (next to their wedding). And can I just vent for a second and tell any readers who are also Days viewers and started watching in 2007 or afterwards, THIS IS THE REAL CHLOE LANE. NOT THE WOMAN YOU KNOW TODAY. *okay, venting over*

Again, Nadia’s vocals are portrayed as sweet and classical. And I can tell you she is an incredibly sweet person, as I met her a few years ago at the Emmys. What about the Trio? Focusing on classical music, here is a montage of what they have done in the past:

So you know what to expect and can understand that I think she has a pretty solid chance of making it past the audition stage. Now I won’t say just yet that she’ll win the whole thing, but I do hope that viewers will get to strike a liking to Nadia and her brothers’ music. I also wonder if they will mention her career on Days and the fact that she turned down an offer from Julliard to join the show? Or perhaps NBC viewers might recognize her immediately. Regardless, I wish Nadia and her brothers the best and hope they go far!

I’d love to hear your take on Nadia and how good her chances are. If you want to follow her on Twitter, she can be found at @RealNadiaB.

Ultrasound specialist by day, entertainment blogger by night - with some amateur dancer, hair & makeup enthusiast, crazy cat lady, recreational chef, and Donnie Wahlberg/Norman Reedus fangirl peppered in to make things interesting ;-) Check out some of my other work over at puredwts.com!

I apologize that this has taken so long – apparently a 9-month absence made me forget just how LONG a 2-hour show is, and how many acts we really see!

Just FYI, for anyone looking for the music from last nights show – my full list is here.

Adrian Romoff – age 9, from Atlanta, GAThe act:Played “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major” on the piano.The verdict: Howard was dubious about whether or not the boy was actually playing the piano after the first song, so he offered to play a second one. Howard was sold, and he got 4 yes’s.Court’s thoughts: I may be in the minority here, as I saw quite a few people on Twitter mentioning that they found Adrian “annoying”, but I love precocious kids that are articulate and wise beyond their years…probably because I was the same way at that age 😛 I got a kick at how he was calmly and confidently (and wittily!) conversing with the judges. The piano-playing was good, of course, although I found the arrangements of both pieces he played to be a bit too “busy” – would have liked something a bit simpler and less electronic-sounding, so I could really appreciate his skill.

The FamtastixThe act:: A group of grown siblings (2 brothers, 4 sisters)that clogged to “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge.The verdict: They’re through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: Kind of over clogging acts (they all start to look rather similar after awhile), but this one wasn’t bad.

Richard & AshleeThe act: A male-female duo of classical dancers turned circus performers that did a series of lifts to “Too Close” by Alex Clare.The verdict: Through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: Gonna be hard to trump the Kristef Brothers in my book. The little we saw was ok – but I hope their next performance is more entertaining.

Tic & Tac EntertainmentThe act: An “acrobatic breakdance comedy group” that did a series of flips, tricks, and breakdance moves to “Happy” by Pharell.The verdict: Through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: Visually, they reminded me of The Chicago Boyz from last season, wearing leftover Team USA sweaters from the Olympics in Sochi 😛 But I think they could potentially be a more well-rounded version of the Chicago Boyz – they seem like they’re able to do a lot more.

3 unnamed comediansThe act: Three very unfunny comedians that preceded Dan Naturman.The verdict: Fairly certain none of them made it through, judging by all the buzzing that was going on.Court’s thoughts: Who told any of these 3 guys that it was a good idea to try out for AGT??? None of them even sounded prepared.

Dan Naturman – age 44, from New York CityThe act: A stand-up comedian that hit on such topics as marriage, Game of Thrones, and people lying on the Internet.The verdict:: He got yes’s from all 4 judges (even Heidi), and he’s through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: At first, I found his delivery a bit jarring – could have been nerves, but he started off in a somewhat rushed, rapid-fire rhythm in an accent that can best be described as James Cagney meets Gilbert Godfried 😛 But about 20 seconds in, he settled into a good rhythm, and it flowed well. Loved the material – tackled timeless topics, while giving it more of a current spin. Could be this season’s Taylor Williamson, methinks.

Rokardy – age 49, from CubaThe act: He’s a hand-balancer that managed to balance on a narrow stand high enough above the stage that he actually was hidden behind the judges’ X’s, then climbed down and landed in a split. Brought along his son Carlos, who assisted by throwing him pieces of the stand, which he assembled as he climbed it.The verdict: 4 yes’s. And Howard wants to make a movie about Carlos. 😛Court’s thoughts: Anyone else find it just a bit odd that Rokardy didn’t introduce Carlos as his son right off the bat? Just was a bit funny to me that he started off by saying “This is my assistant” and it wasn’t until much later that he was like “Oh yeah, he’s my son.” Weird little nitpick, and I’m probably the only one that honed in on it 😛 But anyway!!! A hand-balancer that is possibly more skilled than the Kristef Brothers…but I don’t know that he’s got the variety or the showmanship that made them so appealing. Hope he’s got some other tricks up his sleeve. Looks fan-freaking-tastic for pushing 50!!!

Donnie Valentine – from Champaign, ILThe act: He sang a cover of “You Make Me Feel Brand New” in a painful falsetto.The verdict: 4 very quick X’s…quite possibly the quickest anyone’s ever gotten them, according to Howard.Court’s thoughts: This dude is like an unholy trinity of creepy: bizarre at-home perm, eyes that don’t blink nearly enough, and pants that make him look like he’s about to swashbuckle. Yikes.

Juli MoodyThe act: I guess it was some sort of strong woman act – she did some squats with Nick on her back.The verdict: I’m assuming no – even though it took awhile (because the judges were enjoying watching Nick look uncomfortable on her back), most of the judges buzzed her.Court’s thoughts: Had she gotten a bit more creative with this and not just relied on squatting Nick, I think she might have actually had something…we don’t see too many StrongWoman acts. But alas, no.

Bald Man BongosThe act: 4 bald dudes smacking each other in the head in rhythm. Basically, last season’s Tummy Talk, just tweaked slightly.The verdict: Howie was the only one that didn’t buzz – and he briefly joined the group onstage. But we won’t see them in Boot Camp.Court’s thoughts: Tummy Talk wasn’t that great of an act, so why did someone feel the need to rehash it? Just DUMB.

Unnamed hula hooping actThe act: A middle-aged woman in a red flapper costume hula-hoooping…awkwardly.The verdict: It’s a no – although the act improved dramatically when Nick joined her onstage to share his hula hoop skills 😛Court’s thoughts: The way this woman moved is how I would imagine an ostrich trying to hula hoop would look.

Unnamed kick-line dance groupThe act: From the very brief clip we saw, they appear to be an all-female jazz dance group – that does kick lines.The verdict: Not shown – although they seem pretty good, and Mel looked impressed.Court’s thoughts: Was part of the rapid-fire montage of acts right before Mighty Atom, so we only saw a few seconds. Looked decent, though.

Unnamed ping pong actThe act: A girl hitting a ping pong ball into a guys mouth…and him spitting it back out. Repeat.The verdict: Unknown – but I have a hard time believing this one made it through, given how bored the judges looked.Court’s thoughts: Just…why???

Unnamed bell-ringing musicianThe act: A snazzy-dress middle-aged woman playing “Like A Virgin” with hand bells.The verdict: Yet another unknown…but the judges looked very unimpressed.Court’s thoughts: She looked like a top-selling Avon lady circa 1987. And probably watches a lot of Wheel of Fortune in her spare time.

Mike Greenstein, aka “Mighty Atom Jr.” – age 93The act: He’s a strongman that pulled a station wagon carrying 3 people WITH HIS TEETH.The verdict: 3 yes’s, and 1 no from Howard, who thought he act “needed more showmanship”.Court’s thoughts: First off, I just thought he was the most adorable thing we’ve seen on the show so far – loved how he chomped his teeth like Iceman from Top Gun, and referred to his “84-year-old kid brother”. Clearly this man did not get the memo that he is 93 years old 😛 Thought the act was impressive, but not sure there’s a whole lot else he can do with it…but I’m glad he’s had this opportunity to show America that you don’t have to sit around and do nothing after you retire!

Acte II – ages 32 & 29, from New OrleansThe act: A female opera duo that sang “The Flower Duet”.The verdict: 4 yes’s.Court’s thoughts:: I don’t particularly like opera, but I enjoyed this – I can’t recall another time on AGT that we’ve had a female opera duo or group. So I find this act intriguing 🙂 I know a lot of folks on Twitter were of the opinion “Whatever, they’re no Forte!!!” but I really think the two are apples & oranges – they’re just different from Forte. Not sure how many more opera duets are written for two females – “The Flower Duet” was the only one I was familiar with – but I’m hoping these two can sing things other than just opera. It sounds like they can – they seemed to indicate that they like singing more contemporary music, too.

Unnamed J-setting dance groupThe act: A group of drag queens in gold costumes performing “J-setting”, a style of dance inspired by the 8-counts typically done in cheerleading.The verdict: Unknown – Mel & Heidi seemed to be enjoying it, Howie buzzed them but didn’t say anything, and Howard was a big fat “NO!”Court’s thoughts: I’m actually a big fan of J-setting, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea…so I doubt it would make a very good Vegas show :-/

Unnamed male hip-hop dancerThe act: A young Asian man doing a pretty impressive sequence of spins and turns incorporated into turfing, jooking, and some other hip-hop styles.The verdict: 3 yes’s, and one no from Howard.Court’s thoughts: I was impressed by what I saw, and I don’t think we’ve had a really impressive street dancer since Turf back in season 6. I’m ready for another good solo hip-hop dancer!

Unnamed female singing groupThe act: A group of 4 young ladies singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.The verdict: Howard liked it, but the other 3 didn’t…so probably didn’t make it, but not shown for sure.Court’s thoughts: Sounded kinda off-key, from the short blurb I saw.

Dustin’s Dojo – ages 30 & 35, from IndianapolisThe act: Two guys performing a comedic parody of what it’s like to attend karate school, complete with punches, board breaking, and high kicks.The verdict: Mel & Heidi (particularly Heidi) didn’t think it was funny at all, but Howard and Howie loved it and gave it two yes’s…when the girls said “no”, Howard invoked his one-time Golden Buzzer privileges and sent them through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: I already talked about this act a bit in my poll post from earlier today (if you haven’t already, tell us what you thought about Dustin’s Dojo!), but I’m in the camp that loved it – thought it was pretty clever and an a pretty apt parody of what happens in martial arts school. I’ve noticed that the act seems to be more popular with men than with women, maybe owing to the slapstick nature of the act. Probably won’t make it past the next round, but I’m ok with it right now – just a fun, space-filling act.

Unnamed female dance groupThe act: Another all-female dance group doing vaguely jazzy, hip-hopping stuff.The verdict: By the positive response from the judges and their happy squeals as they left the stage, I’m gonna venture a guess that they made it through.Court’s thoughts: Gettin’ real tired of this no-names, short clips sh*t…

Unnamed male stepping groupThe act: A group of steppers, who also through in some acrobatic moves in between stepping moves.The verdict: They made it through.Court’s thoughts:Glad to see another stepping group – the one we saw last season got very little attention, and was kinda lame. Hope this one makes it further!

Unnammed male hip-hop/acrobatic dance groupThe act: 7 young men doing a combination of hip-hop and acrobatic tricks.The verdict: Through to the next round.Court’s thoughts: Loved the cute little guy with the locks they had up front – reminds me of the cute lil guy from Chicago Boyz last year 😛

Blue Journey – ages 18 & 33The act: A contemporary dance duo that incorporated a projection screen into their routine, along with elements of silhouettes & video technology.The verdict: Despite an awkward initial interview, the performance pleased the judges and they got 4 yes’s.Court’s thoughts: On paper, I probably should have hated this routine – it had several elements I’m tired of seeing on AGT: silhouettes, LCD screens, animations, and blacklight effect incorporated into dance routines. But it was so well-put-together that I couldn’t help but enjoy it – both the dancers were technically strong, as was the choreography itself and the overall staging. Looking forward to seeing what else they have to bring to the table.

Larry the Mime (Nick in disguise)The act: A fairly terrible French mime act, complete with poorly-executed invisible box, invisible rope, and more.The verdict: 4 resounding no’s from the judges, and one very sad-looking mime who launched into a diatribe shortly thereafter.Court’s thoughts: I honestly feel a bit stupid that I didn’t realize sooner that it was Nick underneath that makeup – but with as kooky as some of the acts have gotten in recent years, I didn’t think it was completely off-the-wall to have a disgruntled mime on the show. So touché, Nick…touché 😉

Jaycob Curlee – from Daphne, ALThe act: He sang and played an acoustic version of “Waiting on the World to Change”.The verdict: 4 yes’s.Court’s thoughts: It was pretty good – nothing terribly special, though. Kind of your garden-variety guy with a guitar and a soft voice trying to be John Mayer. I have a feeling America will feel for his sad backstory, though, and he’ll likely last much longer than he should, a la Jimmy Rose. Yes, I’m cynical. 😛

So those were my thoughts on the acts we saw last night…what are yours? Do you have an early favorites?

Ultrasound specialist by day, entertainment blogger by night - with some amateur dancer, hair & makeup enthusiast, crazy cat lady, recreational chef, and Donnie Wahlberg/Norman Reedus fangirl peppered in to make things interesting ;-) Check out some of my other work over at puredwts.com!

Here’s the list I was able to compile for tonight’s episode – feel free to add any that are missing in the comments section 🙂 My rundown of tonight’s show should (hopefully) be up some time tomorrow night…stay tuned!

Ultrasound specialist by day, entertainment blogger by night - with some amateur dancer, hair & makeup enthusiast, crazy cat lady, recreational chef, and Donnie Wahlberg/Norman Reedus fangirl peppered in to make things interesting ;-) Check out some of my other work over at puredwts.com!

Ultrasound specialist by day, entertainment blogger by night - with some amateur dancer, hair & makeup enthusiast, crazy cat lady, recreational chef, and Donnie Wahlberg/Norman Reedus fangirl peppered in to make things interesting ;-) Check out some of my other work over at puredwts.com!

So I daresay last night’s performance show changed my mind about who I think is going to win – and when I
called in my votes for the particular act I think deserves to win, I got a busy signal for at least 30 minutes after the show wrapped…so I’ve got my fingers crossed 😉 I’m gonna do things in reverse order tonight, just to keep things interesting…

6.) Cami Bradley – Really and truly, if we’re going off of performance alone, it should be Jimmy at the bottom of the board – but something tells me the country nuts are going to get him to at least 5th place. I wouldn’t say Cami did badly last night, per se – I just think she wasn’t as memorable as she possibly could have been. Loved that she repeated “Believe”, which I think is the strongest performance we saw from her all season; not wild about “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, though, as I found it rather sing-songy – and I think Cami does best with songs that are a bit more heartfelt and poignant. Overall, she’s been my biggest surprise of the season – would never have guessed from the brief snippet we saw of her audition that she would be a finalist this season. Glad we got to see her journey on the show 🙂

5.) Jimmy Rose – Probably the weakest performer of last night – his repeat song was decent, but I’m completely drawing a blank on his 2nd performance…seriously, I can’t remember anything about it. Likely because it wasn’t terribly different than any of the other performances we’ve seen from him all season long. Seems like the judges have also soured a bit on Jimmy, as I can’t remember them offering up any of their usual over-the-top praise – they might have said “it was good!” but I don’t recall them gushing. Not much else to add about Jimmy – I think he’s a good guy, but if I’m being honest, he should have never made it to the finale…he’s just not vocally at the same level as some of the others we’ve seen.

4.) Collins Key – I know people seem to love this kid, but really? He has basically performed the same trick several times, just with the set-up and props changed slightly. I will give him props for his “repeat” trick (which really wasn’t), since he almost got Mel & Heidi to make out on national television; but the delivery did still seem a little clumsy to me, and I’m not sure that I really bought his 2nd trick – the three individuals he “had never met before” seemed to be trying just a little too hard to act surprised when he predicted what they were wearing and what sign they’d be holding. Like the girl from the date trick, I think they were plants, picked out far ahead of time and told to act surprised. Sorry, but the luster has just worn off the rose for me where Collins is concerned – I think he needs to broaden his repertoire of tricks before he can really be a contender. That said – I think his legion of teenage fans will probably pull him to at least 4th place (maybe 3rd, if enough people have jumped off the Forte bandwagon).

3.) Forte – Prior to last night, I thought these guys had the win in the bag – now I’m not sure they can even manage 3rd place. I just think Forte has the unfortunate problem of not being a very diverse act: they sing opera, and that’s about it. Each performance kinda starts to sound the same after the 3rd or 4th time – and that’s unfortunately what happened last night. Yes, they’re fantastic singers – but they kind of bore me now. Neither of their performances last night really struck a chord with me – all I really remember was all of the lights during their repeat performance, and that’s more of a credit to the set designer than anyone else. Great guys, but I’m just not feeling the “$1 million dollar Vegas show” vibe from them anymore.

1/2.) TIE: Kenichi Ebina & Taylor Williamson – Kenichi may have been the most consistent all season, but he kinda choked last night – his “repeat” performance didn’t awe me like it did the first time, and his new performance seemed to lack a whole lot of dance – a lot of time was wasted trying to interact with the other characters. I still think he stands a good chance of winning, but he’s got some stiff competition in Taylor – really the only finalist to knock both of his performances out of the park last night, while everyone else hit some snags. I think the advantage Taylor has over Kenichi is that he peaked at the right time – he’s just gotten better and better each week we’ve seen him, and it all culminated last night. The fact that Howard even tweeted “I think Taylor might win this whole thing” after last night’s show is telling to me, because Howard has been pretty spot-on with his predictions thus far. So I guess my pick for the winner comes down to two choices: the season-long favorite (Kenichi) vs. the dark horse (Taylor). I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping it was the latter 😉

So who is your pick to win it all? And who did you vote for last night?

Ultrasound specialist by day, entertainment blogger by night - with some amateur dancer, hair & makeup enthusiast, crazy cat lady, recreational chef, and Donnie Wahlberg/Norman Reedus fangirl peppered in to make things interesting ;-) Check out some of my other work over at puredwts.com!